Friday, October 6, 2017

Raleigh / Wake County
Muslim Raleigh City Council Candidate Zainab Baloch Says Defacement of Her Sign Won't Stop Her Campaign

Zainab Baloch, a candidate for a Raleigh City Council at-large post, says her campaign will stand firm against the hateful rhetoric with which vandals apparently defaced her campaign sign on Louisburg Road.

Baloch, a Muslim, learned today that a large wooden sign had been painted over with a crude swastika, a racial reference, and the word "Trump." Baloch, a state employee and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student, is running along with six other candidates for two of the council's at-large seats in October 10 elections.

The candidate's parents immigrated from Pakistan and she grew up in Raleigh.

"This will not stop us if this is the goal of something like this," campaign manager Lindsay Vandenbroeck said Friday in an online video. "Zainab is promoting diversity and inclusion. This is unacceptable; this will not deter our campaign in any way, shape or form."

David Cox, incumbent District B council member tweeted, "We must all stand with Zainab! This is unacceptable."

On Friday afternoon, Mayor Nancy McFarlane released a statement on the vandalism: " This is absolutely reprehensible. There is no place for racist rhetoric anywhere in the City of Raleigh. One of the things that makes Raleigh great is our diversity.
"We are an accepting community that embraces all of our citizens. Raleigh is stronger because we work together to lift each other up. Anything that tries to tear us apart will not be tolerated."